1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods for processing powder metallurgy components and more particularly to devices and methods for sintering tantalum anodes in the production of tantalum capacitors.
2. Description of Prior Art
In the field of tantalum capacitor manufacturing, it is well known that the capacitance of the finished device is determined by the effective surface area of the tantalum anode and by the thickness of the anodic oxide film that is formed on the tantalum which serves as the dielectric element in the capacitor. The working voltage of the capacitor, as well as its long-term reliability, depend on the continuity and homogeneity of the oxide film. Low quality or non-homogeneous areas of the film can break down under applied charging voltages and cause capacitor failure at a lower voltage than desired.
The tantalum anode is conventionally made by pressing tantalum powder in a die to form a porous compact. This compact is then sintered in vacuum at temperatures from 1500.degree. to 2000.degree. C. to form a strong yet still highly porous body. The sintering process must be controlled carefully to develop adequate mechanical strength in the body and yet avoid excessive reduction in porosity which results in an overly dense anode with diminished surface area and reduced capacitance. Similarly, the use of a high surface-area powder can be counterproductive if the powder is too sinterable causing excessive densification or if it contains traces of undesirable elements such as phosphorus or sulfur that migrate to and collect on the tantalum particle surfaces during the initial sintering process and degrade the quality of the anodic oxide film. For example, tantalum powder made by the sodium reduction process has the highest surface area to allow greater capacitance, but is less pure. Electron beam refined powder has higher purity to allow higher working voltages, but has lower surface area resulting in a lower porosity of the sintered tantalum compact and a subsequently lower capacitance in the finished capacitor. These performance trade offs could be better optimized by a sintering process that concentrates energy at the points where individual tantalum particles come into contact resulting in good mechanical bonding without excessive densification. The successful initiation of a microscopic arc or plasma within the pore spaces of the tantalum compact could improve sintering where the particles contact yielding a better balance of densification versus porosity in the compact and could increase working voltages of the capacitor by cleaning the tantalum particle surfaces and removing trace elements.
It is well known that metals are difficult to heat directly with microwave power because at room temperature their electrical conductivity is so high that the microwave energy is reflected and not absorbed To achieve such absorption of energy, various insulation or "casketing" techniques have been developed (C. E. Holcombe and N. L. Dykes, Importance of Casketing for Microwave Sintering of Materials, J. Mat. Sci. Lett. 9, 425-8, 1990) to provide a combination of direct and indirect microwave heating. By the appropriate casketing technique, tantalum compacts can easily be heated to a suitable sintering temperature. Additional unexpected benefits are achieved as will be described below.